Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiographic image photographing system, particularly to a radiographic image photographing system which uses a radiographic image photographing device.
Description of Related Art
There have been developed various radiographic image photographing devices such as a direct-type radiographic image photographing device which makes a detection element generate electrical charge corresponding to a dose of radiation such as an X-ray and converts the electrical charge to an electrical signal, and an indirect-type radiographic image photographing device which makes a scintillator or the like convert radiation into another electromagnetic wave such as visible light having a different wavelength, and then makes a photoelectric conversion element such as a photodiode generate the electrical charge corresponding to energy of the converted electromagnetic wave to convert the electrical charge to the electrical signal (or image data). In the present invention, the detection element in the direct-type radiographic image photographing device and the photoelectric conversion element in the indirect-type radiographic image photographing device are collectively referred to as a radiation detection element.
This type of radiographic image photographing device is well known as an FPD (Flat Panel Detector), and heretofore constituted as a so-called dedicated type (also referred to as a fixed-type or a stationary-type) integrally constituted with a support stage (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-73144). Recently, a portable radiographic image photographing device whose casing houses the radiation detection element and the like so as to be carried by an operater is developed and put to practical use (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-058124 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 6-342099).
Such radiographic image photographing device includes a plurality of radiation detection elements which are usually arrayed in a two-dimensional (matrix) pattern on a sensor panel, and after being irradiated with the radiation through a subject to perform radiation image photographing, reads image data D from each of the radiation detection elements. The radiographic image photographing device is configured to perform radiation image photographing by exchanging data/signal between the radiographic image photographing device and an external device such as a console, for example by transmitting the read image data to the console.
Such transmission and reception of signal and the like between the radiographic image photographing device and the external device is performed by wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network, also referred to as a WLAN), for example. Sometimes a hospital facility has a plurality of photographing rooms, and access points are provided in the respective photographing rooms.
When the access points in the photographing rooms have the same identifier (for example, an SSID (Service Set Identifier) in the wireless LAN of IEEE 802.11), there is a possibility that wireless communication in a certain photographing room is received by an access point in another photographing room and a crossed line is generated. Therefore, in the case that the plurality of photographing rooms are provided, usually the identifiers at the access points in the photographing rooms differ from one another.
In the case that the radiographic image photographing device is the abovementioned portable type, since one radiographic image photographing device can be brought into any photographing rooms, it is necessary to perform processing to notify the radiographic image photographing device brought into a certain photographing room of the identifier of the access point in the photographing room.
Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-011057 for example, sometimes the radiographic image photographing device is configured to be inserted in a cradle placed in the photographing room in order to register existence of the radiographic image photographing device brought into the photographing room. It is possible to make the access point in the photographing room notified to the radiographic image photographing device inserted in the cradle.
However, there is a high possibility that an operator such as a radiology technician, who brings the radiographic image photographing device into the photographing room, forgets to insert the radiographic image photographing device in the cradle, and loads the radiographic image photographing device into a bucky device, for example. There is also a possibility that the operator feels troublesome for the necessity to insert the radiographic image photographing device brought into the photographing room in the cradle.
For the operator such as the radiology technician, the radiographic image photographing system including the radiographic image photographing device can be recognized as having good usability in the case that the radiographic image photographing device can automatically be registered and conduct wireless communication with the access point in the photographing room at a time point when the operator brings the radiographic image photographing device into the photographing room.
On the other hand, at the time point when the operator such as the radiology technician brings the radiographic image photographing device into the photographing room, the radiographic image photographing device does not learn the identifier of the access point in the photographing room. In this case, for example, it is necessary for the operator to input the identifier to the radiographic image photographing device. Therefore, the operator also feels troublesome.
As a result of investigation of a method for notifying the radiographic image photographing device of the identifier of the access point in the photographing room, the inventors have found a method for automatically, simply, and accurately notifying the radiographic image photographing device of the identifier of the access point in the photographing room.